Mountaineers claim top spot

ELON -- In a battle of Southern Conference heavyweights, Appalachian State showed Elon it wasn't about to give up its perennial perch on top.

The seventh-ranked Mountaineers, who have won three of the past four FCS national championships, clinched their fifth straight league title with a convincing 27-10 victory over No. 6 Elon on Saturday.

Appalachian State (8-2, 7-0) delivered an early knockout punch against the up-and-coming Phoenix (8-2, 6-1), getting three rushing touchdowns from star quarterback Armanti Edwards and three interceptions from an opportunistic defense to take a commanding 21-0 edge one play into the second quarter.

Elon, which has moved into the upper echelon of the Southern Conference in the past few years, was never in the game as a Rhodes Stadium record crowd of 14,167 looked on.

"We dug ourselves a very big hole early on," Elon coach Pete Lembo said.

Edwards, the all-everything senior quarterback for the Mountaineers, scored on runs of 15, 6 and 3 yards and keyed a balanced offense that piled up nearly 500 yards. Edwards completed 21 of 24 passes for 281 yards and added 73 rushing yards for the No. 1 offense in the FCS.

"It's a great accomplishment to bring home another Southern Conference title and go on to the playoffs," said Edwards, who is the first player in NCAA Division I history (FCS or FBS) with 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in his career.

He gave Appalachian State fans a scare when he left the field late in the first half in what has been ruled a strained ACL of his right knee.

Edwards returned in the second half and played most of the rest of the way.

"We won't really know until later on [how serious the injury is]," said Edwards, who added the knee was a little sore.

In addition to the sparkling early play of their field general against the top-rated defense in the FCS, the Mountaineers made a statement themselves on the other side of the ball, forcing Elon quarterback Scott Riddle into three interceptions. He only had four all year entering the game.

Safety Mark LeGree had two of the three picks, giving him six in the last five games.

"I know when I get interceptions, the offense thrives off it," said LeGree, who led the nation last season with 10 interceptions.

Appalachian State pressured Riddle throughout, piling up five sacks, including two by Anthony Williams.

"I felt like we played as complete a game on defense as we have all year," ASU coach Jerry Moore said.

Elon's Lembo credited the Mountaineers with playing a complete game.

"I think what they're doing is peaking at the right time," Lembo said.

"They're playing real well in all three phases, and they're positioned pretty well right now."

Appalachian State 27, Elon 10

FIRST QUARTER

App--Edwards 15 run (Vitaris kick), 7:17. App--Edwards 6 run (Vitaris kick), :45.

SECOND QUARTER

App--Edwards 3 run (Vitaris kick), 14:54.

THIRD QUARTER

Elon--FG Shreiner 23, 9:07. App--FG Vitaris 35, 4:08.

FOURTH QUARTER

App--FG Vitaris 26, 8:03. Elon--Mellette 12 pass from Riddle (Shreiner kick), 4:48.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Appalachian St., Edwards 10-73, D.Moore 17-53, Cadet 7-47, Radford 6-22, Yokeley 2-6, Cline 1-4. Elon, Newsome 11-63, A.Harris 8-21, Riddle 9-(minus 26).

PASSING--Appalachian St., Edwards 21-24-0-281, Cadet 0-2-0-0. Elon, Riddle 20-34-3-212.

RECEIVING--Appalachian St., Cline 8-104, Quick 6-99, D.Moore 4-15, Elder 1-39, Jorden 1-16, Cadet 1-8. Elon, Hudgins 10-127, Peterson 3-24, A.Harris 2-29, Mellette 2-15, Newsome 1-12, Labinowicz 1-4, Jeffcoat 1-1.

Att.--14,167.

Latest Comment View all comments